July 17, 2012 – Renewed Hope, Alameda’s housing advocacy organization, won a long fought victory when the City adopted its first valid housing element plan for affordable housing since 1990. Along with the housing element the City adopted an overlay zoning ordinance that will rezone enough sites in Alameda to accommodate 2400 housing units—Alameda’s regional “fair share” of the Bay Area’s need for affordable housing.

The housing element, which has been approved by the state Department of Housing and Community Development, and the zoning overlay override the City’s long standing “Measure A” which prohibits any multifamily housing development in the city. Adopted in 1973, the measure presented a virtually insurmountable barrier to the development of housing affordable to lower income households. Renewed Hope is represented by attorneys from PILP and Public Advocates, Inc.